The Book

WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE HAPPY TO RUN A BUSINESS BASED ON HOPE AND LUCK INSTEAD OF CERTAINTY AND CONTROL

Most businesses struggle and fail because they are built of a weak foundation based on hope and luck. They hope they will succeed and with luck it will happen. The successful minority are built on a solid foundation based on certainty and control. They know exactly where they are going, how to get there and they stay on course. What kind of foundation is your business built on?

Learn how to build your business on a strong foundation based on certainty and control instead of a weak one based on hope and luck. Discover:
• The three fundamental building blocks that all successful businesses are built on: Strategy, Systems and Leadership
• Why you need all three building blocks to ensure success
• How these building blocks give you the certainty and control you need to set the right destination and reach it
• How to establish these fundamental building blocks in your business

This book shows you how to build the solid foundation that eliminates uncertainty and gives you the control you need to achieve your goals and reach your destination.
So, are you going to carry on as most business owners do and struggle and likely fail or are you going to build a successful business that will change your life?

Amazon Book Reviews

A book that gives a completely fresh, exciting outlook to my current business ideals.

I have owned and operated a successful business for the past 17 years, and now find myself at a juncture of heavy reinvestment and doubt over which direction I should take to progress my companies to a better, more sustainable and secure level. I have no business partner, and take sole responsibility for my companies and employees.

Having read Chris’s book, I am pleased to say that many ideals and practices within it are already implemented within my companies. The book, however, highlights to me many of the improvements that I need, and would like to implement within my organization. It offers a detailed and balanced approach of how to achieve these goals, and gives straightforward advice and assistance.

For this i would like to thank Chris for his insight and plain talking approach that is inherent is this book. I will be moving forward with my companies with more direction and focus, and with Certainty and Control as the backbone and key principles of my business life.
I cannot underestimate the assistance that this book has presented to me, and would highly recommend “Your Business Foundation” to anyone.

Thanks Chris,

The three pillars of success: strategy, leadership and systems

I am a firm believer in the benefits of strategic planning and having an effective business system in place, so when I read Christopher’s book, I was immediately hooked.

The book begins by looking at the reasons why some business ventures fail, and follows that up with a link to a report which Christopher had written to substantiate his findings. It then goes into detail explaining the three principles that all successful businesses are built from: Strategy, Leadership and Systems.

There are plenty of practical examples throughout the book that you can implement yourself, as well as lots of diagrams, flowcharts and mind maps.

I feel as though I have gained quite a lot from reading this book, and I am going to put many of the authors suggestions into practice within my own business.

If you are looking for a tool kit or framework to enable you to build or improve your company strategy and business systems, this is the book for you!

At last a bit of reality!

This is good stuff. Definite case of been there, seen it and collected a load of t-shirts along the way. Not a dry and dusty text book but tried and tested advice honed in the crucible of harsh reality. (Check out the story of the last £10 if you need convincing!) I shall be recommending this to the businesses I advise.

Identifies the difference between owning a business and running a business.

The UK offers almost anyone the freedom to start and run a business. There are practically no pre-requisites, either financial or commercial, that entrepreneurs need to demonstrate to anyone – either before launching or while trading.

This can be a double-edged sword, because if there were it might reduce the number of business that fail every year.

This book becomes that ‘little voice of reason’ sitting on your shoulder, forcing you to really examine what it is you’re doing and where you’re going. For an SME, encouraging your ‘commercial conscience’ to influence your actions could be the difference between simply owning a business and really running one.

The teachings, techniques and tools in this book provide the SME Owner a mirror; forcing them to take a good, long and objective look at their business, to identify problems and formulate solutions.

Punctuated with real examples, it does require the reader to commit to making the time to run their business, rather than letting it drift on under its own momentum. That, in itself, can be just as scary as starting a business (if it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it!), but ultimately if you’re running an SME you need to take action and this book will equip you with the will and the ways to do it.

And one can do much worse than read this book

When it comes to books written about businesses and entrepreneurship, there are two camps of authors. The first one consists of academics who have no practical experience. The second camp consists of business people. But this latter group tends to write flattering accounts, glossing over mistakes and lacking in self-reflection.

It is therefore refreshing to read a candid account by someone who was initially successful, then failed and reflected, with the aim of sharing his learning with others. The book is free of business school jargon and presents key concepts in straightforward language. The author does not shy away from exposing his own frailties (an important takeaway for entrepreneurs on their own journey).

The book offers the voice of hard-won experience, and one can do much worse than read this book. I commend it.

On behalf of Nina Bos

As a small business owner, trying to beat off the competition, you can never get enough help.

Having been an entrepreneur for 9 years now, I’ve realized that decision making is a leader’s most important responsibility. Good decisions can lead an organization to excellence. Bad decisions can lead to …. many possible results that should be avoided.

All too often, even the best and most well-intentioned leaders make bad decisions that are life changing for both their organizations and for their careers.

I have found “Your Business Foundation” a readable book, not overly technical and spiced with the personal experiences of the author, making it somehow more accessible to me.

It gives clarity to the simplest elements of a business, no matter if small or large and I can see this being a helpful book for many of us.
For someone not having much spare time to read and not being interested in dry technical business material, this book was worth the effort. I really admire the way this author seemed to have turned his life around after a downfall and how he so openly allows us to witness his journey from success to failure to success again.

I will probably reread the book in a year or so, because there were so many elements and tips included, I think a revisit can only benefit my company (and me!).

Informative!

Having had a successful business for the past 14 years, I thought that I may not learn anything from reading the book.

I was wrong, it actually reinforced everything that I have achieved within my business. It made me stop and think again. I thought I had made my decisions about my business and set the plan, well reading the book has got my creative juices flowing again , it’s made me want to develop further on the plan I set. It allowed me to go through the process in my mind of what as a company I felt we could still improve on.

The journey the book takes you on definitely gives perspective to what you are trying to achieve.

I have a medium sized company employing over 300 staff and turning over 6m per year, the book is there to open your eyes, see through the fog and move your business forward, whether you are struggling or doing well and want to expand. It allows you to focus on the business and shows you how to make it happen.

My advice would be to buy the book and see for yourself!

A comprehensive approach.

Crickey, there’s a lot of information in here! Hugely comprehensive. Christopher Briggs has obviously tried to write a book that can appeal to a sole trader just starting out on their first business venture, all the way through to corporate level managers; a task almost impossible to achieve really. I think if I’d read some of this book before starting out myself, I probably wouldn’t have bothered, thinking, you’ve got to do all this to be successful?! However, what Briggs does, is ask you to look at all the elements of what you do and concentrate on the most important bit to fix first, which for me became clear very quickly. Then with the framework he’s developed, you can methodically move on to the other areas that need polishing. I can’t imagine he’s left any stones unturned.

What I would say is, if you’re just starting out in business and think you just need some basics to get you off to the right start then don’t be put off by the table of contents! It may all seem a bit more in-depth than maybe you were looking for but it’s all information that you’ll need at some point. For more experienced people, just get stuck in!

I concur with other reviewers in applauding the way Briggs has presented his messages based on real-life examples and personal experiences. As such, it’s a relatively easy read with all the content of a text book, making it good for all levels of experience.

Critical business fundamental planning needs clearly laid out

It amazes me how many managers, companies both small and large, embark on business ventures without first clearly identifying what they want to achieve and more importantly, without a documented step by step plan, with notable milestones as check points showing how to get to the end point. This book lays out very clearly, some of the absolutely critical planning tools and process’ that will not only help a business to have a better chance to reach its goals but, by following this methodology and being disciplined, it will also provide you an early warning if things could be going off track. What is an additional help is that its not all just theory but the author backs it up with well explained real life ‘usage’ scenarios and examples. I would certainly recommend this not just for business owners but for any business manager.

This book provides a very powerful and easy to read guide for all managers regardless of their …

All institutions irrespective of them being public or private sector need to be successful. Their success will be based on a well developed strategy and robust implementation plan. This book provides a very powerful and easy to read guide for all managers regardless of their position in the organisation to understand, develop and implement a successful strategic plan. The book is littered with personnel examples of both success and failure, which when added to the realism of practice, provides chemistry for success.

Recommended – even if the idea of reading about business foundations sounds dull and not what you want to be doing at present!

A friend recommended I read this book, and I have to admit I put it off assuming a book about business foundations would be hard work (and a bit dull) – turns out I was very wrong.

This book is engaging and from the very beginning was obvious it was going to be really helpful. I don’t own a small business, but am a trustee of a charity, and an employee, and this book has real relevance to both of those. It has really made me think through these and I now intend to go back through the book and do the exercises. I can see the potential of this book having a massive impact.

I would recommend it to anyone who has any say in the strategy of groups/businesses they are working in, and especially if new to this area, as it is so clear and explains why, as well as what to do.